Braxton: Rebel Riders MC Series, #4

By Molly Black

Back in New Mexico I'm here alone. My brother has stayed in Florida and he was more than my brother, he was my best friend. 

I have the MC, but it still feels lonely. With Ray wanting me to take our youngest member under my wing, how could this get any worse?

When I was in need of a friend the most, one of the most unlikely of candidate's steps into my life. A bartender that is settling for a career becomes the thing I have needed the most in my life. My love. 

But, she has skeletons in her closet that are breaking the door to get out. I won't let her go, but some skeletons never stay hidden.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MB
• Release date: Aug 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393797685

Book preview

Chapter 1

Braxton

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There were a lot of things that felt different about life in New Mexico now that my twin brother, Landon, was living in Florida. I didn’t want to say that I felt like he had abandoned me, because I knew it wasn’t that simple. We’d gone to Sarasota for work, and he’d fallen in love with a girl. I couldn’t blame him for that. I didn’t really see what he saw in Anne because he and I had totally different tastes in women, but it was pretty obvious how much she meant to him, even before he had to face her being held at gunpoint by a rival motorcycle club.

I couldn’t blame him for staying behind, but things were just weird.

Landon and I had grown up together. Through thick and thin, we had always been there for each other. I hadn’t just lost my brother; I had lost my best friend. And nowhere was this more apparent than the first Rebel Riders club meeting I had to go to without him. Sitting by myself on the couch that we normally occupied was strange. And there was no one next to me for me to crack jokes with. I felt totally lost.

I didn’t want to pity myself, but I definitely felt a little lonelier without him there.

Yo, what happened to Landon? Grant asked, coming into the clubhouse and stopping short when he saw the empty seat next to me.

He’s still in Florida, I said, not wanting to talk about it.

Did something happen to him? Grant pressed, clearly not getting the message.

I thought back to everything that had happened in Florida. We’d been there to help out one of Ray’s old friends, a guy who had once saved Ray’s life. The Sarasota chapter of the MC had been losing their hold on a bunch of the local businesses, even ones that had been loyal to them for years, and Neil hadn’t known what to do.

Landon and I had quickly found out that the other MC called themselves the Mambas, but it was less easy to track any of them down. They operated totally in secret, and we weren’t even sure how many of them we were dealing with. In the end, it turned out to be just a handful of members, which was lucky for us. Even though there were so few of them, things had gone pretty south at the end.

I would never admit this to anyone, but I’d still woken up a couple nights sure that there was something there in the dark with a gun pointed at my head again. Luckily, I’d been able to get out of there unscathed. Landon hadn’t been as lucky.

But the gunshot wound wasn’t the reason that he was still there in Sarasota. No, he was still there because he hadn’t wanted to leave Anne behind, and somehow, after everything that she had gone through with the Mambas because of him, she wanted him to stay.

I didn’t understand it. And I didn’t feel like talking about it.

He just decided he wanted to stay there. He’s helping Neil grow the Rebel Riders chapter there, I said.

Fortunately, I was saved from the rest of the conversation by Ray’s arrival. Everyone who wasn’t already seated fell into place around the room, and everyone quieted down to listen to Ray.

I had to admit; I really hoped there wasn’t any bad news today. I was still getting used to being back home and being back without Landon. I couldn’t imagine having to do a mission without him. I had never had to before, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that just yet.

But unfortunately, Ray opened the meeting talking about Landon.

As I’m sure everyone’s noticed, we’re a member short, he said, nodding toward the empty space next to me. Landon has opted to stay in Sarasota to help out the Rebel Riders chapter there as their new vice president. He grinned wryly. Of course, we could have used him in a similar position here, but I suppose there were other factors influencing his decision as well.

So what does that mean for us? Cameron asked, looking around the room. I mean, we’re not having any problems yet, but with him gone and Marcus up in the Northwest with his girl and Will focusing on his studies, that leaves us spread pretty thin for the level of business we’ve been doing lately.

I’m well aware, Ray said, inclining his head toward our treasurer. And rest assured, I’ll be keeping my eyes open for a replacement. I hope all of you will keep looking as well. He turned to look at me. For now, I think our best bet will be to have you working together with Grant, doing all your usual duties. You know I don’t like sending guys out there on their own, even veterans like you.

Oh come on, I groaned, but Ray cut me off with a look.

I would have thought that after everything in Florida, you would realize the wisdom of not having anyone out there on their own, he said, arching an eyebrow at me. Anyway, it’s not up for discussion. I already have a task for the two of you. I want you to go check on one of our businesses. They’re late on their payment, and I want to know why. I’ll give you all the details after the meeting.

He continued to talk about various other club issues, but I mostly tuned him out. Inwardly, I was fuming. What, did he think that having Grant with me would make up for the fact that I had lost Landon? I didn’t want to work with Grant. He was a nice enough kid, but he was painfully young, only twenty-two, and pretty new to the MC as well.

He was soft. I honestly didn’t think he had what it took to last in a club like this. We tried to keep violence to a minimum so as not to piss off the local sheriff, and it wasn’t like we were caught up in anything too terrible. But all the same, you had to be willing to do whatever it took to protect the club’s best interests.

And put it this way, I just didn’t trust Grant to guard my back. He was almost too good of a guy, and he was bound to hesitate—that was how people ended up dead.

Ray was making it clear that he didn’t want to hear my protests, though. And I knew better than to try to argue with him. I knew that his real motive in this was probably to have someone train Grant into the business, to get him to quit hesitating. But personally, I didn’t think there was any way to train Grant to do well at this. He just didn’t have what it took.

After the meeting, we followed Ray back into his office. Drinks? Ray offered, as he pretty much always did when someone entered his office.

Sure, I said automatically.

Grant hesitated. Aren’t we going to do a job this afternoon? he asked.

I gave him an unimpressed look. You’re going to be muddleheaded after one drink? I asked.

Of course not! he said, sounding embarrassed. But you know, your reflexes aren’t as sharp if you’ve been drinking. That’s just a fact.

I rolled my eyes and accepted the drink that Ray held out to me. This whole working with goody-two-shoes thing was definitely going to get old fast. I hoped Ray could see that he and I weren’t compatible. But then again, same thing. Ray was probably just trying to get me to take the kid under my wing and get him to relax a little. Act like a normal person. Ugh.

I so didn’t need this. But there was no arguing with Ray.

What business are we talking about here? I asked.

Ray gave us all the details, and less than an hour later, we were over there. "Man, these things move fast, Grant said as we pulled up. There was a frown between his eyebrows, like he wasn’t really sure if he was on board with this or not. Don’t you give them some sort of warning first?"

I gave him an incredulous look. "We are the warning," I told him.

Aren’t you here to, like, rough him up a little, though? Grant asked.

Yeah, I said. And trust me, things will be a lot worse for him if he doesn’t take the hint and pay up.

What if he doesn’t have the money?

Then he shouldn’t have gone into business in Las Cruces, I growled, hoping this conversation wasn’t a sign of how this meeting was going to go.

We headed inside, and it was pretty obvious that I needed to take the lead on this one.

Rich, good to see you, I said pleasantly as the owner himself came out from the back room.

He knew exactly who I was, and I could see the way he paled slightly. Meaning, this wasn’t just a lapse on his part. He hadn’t forgotten to pay us. He just didn’t intend to pay us. What I needed was to figure out why. If some other MC had come in here and demanded that he pay him, like the Mambas had done in Sarasota and like the Unknowns had done here in Las Cruces prior to that, I was going to flip out.

I didn’t need to start a war with some rival MC now, not when I had just finished cleaning up that other mess. And especially not with Grant at my side instead of my brother.

I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on finding out the truth. Rich, what’s going on? I asked, keeping my tone silky. You were supposed to have your payment to Rebel Riders by last Tuesday. But last I checked, we still haven’t received anything.

Rich shook his head. You guys know you charge too much to small businesses like mine. What am I supposed to do? I can’t keep up with my monthly payments. There’s got to be some way that we can cut a deal.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Try again, Rich, I said, this time letting him hear the warning in my tone. We all know that you just bought a new house. If you weren’t making enough money to pay your dues here, you wouldn’t have been able to afford that, now would you?

Rich blubbered a little, clearly wanting us to pity him. He wanted us just to let him quit paying his dues, while still giving him all the protection of being one of the businesses loyal to us here in Las Cruces. Or else he wanted us to cut him some sort of deal so he could pay less than all of his neighbors. That wouldn’t do either.

I leaned in closer to him. Rich, come on, I said. You don’t want to see what happens if we quit protecting you.

Rich snorted, clearly unable to help himself. I don’t know that I’ve ever needed your protection, he said. Who are you protecting me from?

I raised an eyebrow at him. Well, from the sheriff, for one, I said pleasantly. Or maybe this would go straight up to the federal level if the boys knew that you were not only fudging the amount of tips that come in here but also hiring people without the proper work papers. I don’t think that would go over too well given the current political state, do you?

Rich was silent for a long moment. But I could still see the calculations behind his eyes. He still thought that he could get some sort of discount. What a fucking idiot.

Unfortunately, Grant was buying every bit of the act. If he can’t afford his dues, I’m sure we can figure something out. Give him a break. Right, Braxton?

I glowered at him and then grabbed Rich by the collar, forcing him back against the wall. The only break you’re going to be getting are broken bones if you don’t pay up, I growled. Or do you want us to break into that fancy new house of yours? Threaten your wife and your daughter? I flexed my muscles to make sure he knew the threat for what it was.

All right! Rich said, and the fear was clear in his eyes. I’ll pay.

I thrust him toward the cash register, and sure enough, he immediately had an envelope of cash in his hands. I counted it carefully, but it was all there. He had been expecting us. I smirked, trying not to think of how similar to the Mambas I felt. I shouldn’t have threatened his wife, and I definitely shouldn’t have threatened his daughter. That was a dirty move. I should have kept things between the two of us.

But it was too late for that now, and there was no point in dwelling on it. Anyway, we had the money. And there was no other MC sniffing around, trying to steal our business from us. I had to be grateful for that at least.

I turned, pocketing the envelope, and stalked out the door, Grant following behind me. We got in the car, shutting the doors behind us. Well, that was... he began, trailing off. He clearly didn’t know how to finish.

That was business, I said harshly. I looked over at him. You’ve got to nut up, man, if you want to be a part of this. If you’re going to be anything for Rebel Riders. This isn’t the fucking Boy Scouts.

It was silent in the car all the way back to our headquarters, but I didn’t care.

Chapter 2

Mia

Monday nights were probably the worst night to have a long shift on the books, but hey, I could use the money. It was going to be slow, though, meaning that I would have plenty of time to think. And I definitely didn’t need that, after the conversation that I’d had that afternoon with my father.

He still wanted to know when I was going to grow up and do something with my life. He had paid for my economics degree, after all, and he didn’t want me just to throw away my life bartending.

To be honest, I had always expected I would do something more with my life too. Find a career. Settle down. Start a family. But I had started bartending midway through college to get some allowance and to help pay for my rent, and now I just didn’t want to do anything else. This job gave me a certain amount of freedom that an office nine-to-five could never give me.

Plus, I thought as I arrived at Sunshine and saw Candice already hard at work behind the bar, this job gave me the chance to work with people I really respected. People who I was friends with, both on the job and off.

Take Candice, for example. She was the owner of this place, and she was the one who had hired me on, years ago now. She was probably my best friend. Of course, sometimes she sounded more like my dad, wanting me to do something more with my life, but when she said it, it wasn’t such an insult. She just wanted me to be happy.

Another start to the week, Candice said, smiling when she saw me.

I groaned. Don’t remind me, I said.

Hey, come on, at least you get to start your week here, Candice joked. And besides, aren’t you glad to put this weekend behind you? I saw you on Saturday night. You were probably puking your guts up all day yesterday, weren’t you?

I laughed and shook my head. I was pretty drunk on Saturday, I admitted. All your fault, I’m sure. But I don’t get hangovers; you know that.

You will, Candice said. One of these days.

Maybe when I’m an old dinosaur like you, I quipped. At four years older than me, twenty-nine-year-old Candice was still pretty young, but she seemed a lot older than me sometimes. She had her life together. She knew what she wanted. I admired that, but I also liked being free of responsibilities. I was sure I had a lot more fun than she did. Sometimes, she could be so uptight about the stupidest things.

Hopefully, you won’t still be manning a bar when you’re an ‘old dinosaur like me,’ Candice said.

I snorted. What, are you going to fire me before then? I asked.

Of course not! she said. You know I could never fire you. She paused. But you’re too good for this job, and you know it. Have you ever even thought about using your degree?

I will, I said. When the time is right. Sure, frame it like that. Just waiting for the right opportunity.

Really, I didn’t see what the problem was with working for the bar for the rest of my life. Sure, I knew that my tips would start to decline as I got older. That I needed to have some sort of fallback plan. But at the same time, I just liked being here. And I couldn’t see myself being anywhere near as happy if I were working in an office or something like that.

It was one of those silly things, but I had picked my major because I was good at economics, not because I really knew what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t really want to do something with economics. I didn’t want something better. I was happy enough with where I was now.

Although I could definitely do with making a bit more money, some months. Not that I was destitute by any means. Fortunately, life here in Las Cruces was pretty affordable, and Candice paid fairly. Plus, my tips were usually pretty good. Other than when those stupid Rebel Riders guys came in here.

They were usually pretty good to us, but they acted like they owned the place, like we were lucky to have them drinking here and like they had priority over everyone else. And then they had the gall to tip like poor college students. It drove me crazy, but it wasn’t like you could say anything about it. We were lucky to have their protection, and that at least, I understood.

Besides, I said to Candice. You know I’m one of the best employees that you have here. What would you do if I were to leave? You’d have a hell of a time replacing me.

Candice laughed. You’re right at that. But still. You’re my friend just as much as you’re my employee. I’d still rather that you were doing something better with your life.

I gave her a quick hug. Trust me, I’m perfectly happy here, I told her. More than happy, really. This is a great place to work.

Well, I’m glad to hear that, Candice said, grinning over at me.

So where do you need me to start? I asked.

As the evening wore on, I did a little bit of everything: scrubbing glasses, cleaning tables, inventorying what we had left in our back room as we finished up the month. But things were just as dead as I expected them to be, and I couldn’t seem to stop wondering. What could I be if I weren’t so happy working here? What should I be?

I was wiping off the bar when the leader of the Rebel Riders came in. I’d met Ray before, and it wasn’t a surprise to see him here. He was in here twice as much as the rest of his guys, at least, and he was never there to collect the money. Something that gave him automatic points, in my book, and not just because he tipped like a normal person rather than the rest of his cheap riffraff. No instead, it was like he had picked this place to be his neighborhood hangout.

It was good to know that even though they were mainly here for our protection, they were also just normal citizens of Las Cruces. It felt like we were doing business with people who really cared, which is something that I never would have expected to have with a gang.

I automatically poured him a beer and set it in front of him at the bar.

Thanks, Mia, Ray said gratefully.

I raised an eyebrow at him. Long day? I asked.

He shrugged one shoulder. You know how it is, he said, even though we both knew that I didn’t. I didn’t have any qualms about his guys coming in here, but that definitely wasn’t the crowd that I ran with.

My father should be proud of that at least.

We’re a little shorthanded at the moment, Ray continued as I dried some glasses at his end of the bar.

Oh yeah? I asked. What happened to the rest of your guys?

Ray sighed. A couple of them got married, and now Landon has found a girlfriend and a place for himself in Florida. He frowned at me. You probably know Landon. He’s come in here a lot. One of the twins?

Yeah, I remember the name, I said, nodding at him. Did his twin stay in Florida with him?

I tried to sound casual, but I hoped he bought it. In actual fact, I had made eyes at Braxton, the twin, more than once. He was sexy and muscular, with this devil-may-care attitude that really did something to me. I knew better than to get tangled up in biker shit, but at the same time, I had thought about dragging Braxton home with me more than a couple times.

No, Braxton’s still around, Ray said. He frowned. Although I don’t know how much you’ll see of him in the coming weeks. He’s so used to his brother being next to him wherever he goes that I’m sure this is rough for him. I tried pairing him up with one of the other kids from the club, but I can tell he’s not particularly thrilled about it.

I snorted and shook my head. Probably not. You probably just made him feel worse about losing his brother. He’ll just figure out all the ways that this new guy doesn’t measure up.

Ray gave me a measuring look, and I was sure he was going to ask me how I knew that. Fortunately, Candice came out before I had to explain. Oh, Ray! she said in surprise. Sorry, I didn’t know you were coming in tonight or else I would have come said ‘hi’ sooner.

It’s fine, I’ve been chatting with Mia, Ray said, smiling at her. The two of them had an interesting dynamic. I was sure that they must have slept together at some point, based on the way that they acted. But if so, Candice had never admitted to it.

We’re all squared away for the month, aren’t we? Candice asked, and I could tell from her frown that she was trying to remember for sure. She had a lot on her plate, and no matter how much I tried to help her out, she refused to let me in on the business side of things. Even though she had to realize she was driving herself into the ground.

We’re squared up, Ray assured her. I just wanted to check in. He paused. Have the two of you had any problems lately? With visitors or unruly customers. Anything.

Candice and I exchanged a glance. Was he trying to ask if any other gangs had swung by to visit us? I made a face and Candice shrugged.

Nah, things have been quiet as normal, she said. Why, should we be worried?

Ray laughed. I hope not, he said. "That’s the whole reason